Gubernatorial hopeful Steve Poizner is joined by his daughter Carol, left, and his wife Rebecca, as he greets supporters of his campaign after results showed he lost to Meg Whitman, on Tuesday night, at the Hilton Hotel in Irvine.

Gubernatorial hopeful Steve Poizner shakes hands with supporters as he exits the conference room where held his concession speech to Meg Whitman Tuesday night at the Hilton Hotel in Irvine.

Gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner, joined by his daughter Carol, left, and his wife Rebecca is somber as he concedes the election to his rival Meg Whitman at the Hilton Hotel in Irvine Tuesday night.

Gubernatorial hopeful Steve Poizner, right, is followed by his wife Rebecca, and his daughter Carol to the riser where he gave his concession speech to supporters, on Tuesday night at the Hilton Hotel in Irvine.

A photographer raises his camera above the crowd to get a shot of gubernatorial hopeful Steve Poizner, his daughter Carol, left, and his wife Rebecca as he thanks supporters during his concession speech at the Hilton Hotel in Irvine, on election night, Tuesday.

Supporters of governor hopeful Steve Poizner anxiously await his arrival in the ballroom at the Hilton Hotel, in Irvine, where he thanked them, and conceded the election to Meg Whitman, on Election night, Tuesday.

Governor hopeful Steve Poizner shakes hands with supporters before thanking them then giving his concession speech to Meg Whitman, on Tuesday night, at the Hilton Hotel, in Irvine.

Faced with a well-known former governor as their general election opponent, California Republicans chose deep pockets over political experience Tuesday, opting for former eBay CEO and business celebrity Meg Whitman who poured millions of her own money into a bruising campaign against Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner.

Worth an estimated $1.2 billion, Whitman spent $71 million of her own money on a months-long media blitz bashing Poizner and showing Republican voters she has the resources to challenge former governor and current attorney general Jerry Brown, who is so formidable that he forced all of the other candidates out of the Democratic primary.

“It’s time for a different style of leadership,” Whitman said from her victory party at the Universal City Hilton in Los Angeles. “A new beginning. Not glitz, not glamour, not glibness, but guts. A governor with the guts to do the hard work required to turn California around.”

Poizner, a successful Silicon Valley entrepreneur, had been building to a run for governor since he was elected insurance commissioner four years ago. But Whitman got on television first, painting herself as conservative and Poizner as a liberal, even though the two candidates hold similar views.

Late in the election, Poizner tried to make a furious comeback, buoyed by his tough stance on illegal immigration. Some Republicans also feared Whitman would be a replay of another celebrity political novice, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who disappointed many in the GOP with his flip-flopping and moderate views.

But despite all his efforts, Poizner could not stop the Whitman machine, a behemoth that started rolling when Whitman joined John McCain’s campaign for president in 2008 and has steadily gathered steam ever since.

“We did not prevail today. But that does not mean that our fight ends here,” Poizner said in his concession speech, just an hour after polls closed at 8 p.m. “…Together, we can save California. You know it. I know it. Let’s fight on.”

Going into the November general election, Whitman is thought to have an advantage in her ability to self fund and holds attraction as a female candidate, but she faces a daunting challenge in Brown, who has had the luxury of sitting on his political war chest while Whitman battled it out with Poizner.

Brown enjoys an easy relationship with the media, in contrast with Whitman, who tightly choreographs her appearances and interviews. And Brown is significantly more experienced politically – he served as governor from 1975 to 1983, along with stints as secretary of state, attorney general and mayor of Oakland, and he is the son of Pat Brown, who was governor from 1959 to 1967.

Once it became clear that Whitman had won the primary Tuesday evening, Democrats wasted little time going on the offensive, bashing her for her connections to Goldman Sachs and big dollars she spent on the primary. Speaking from his election night party at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, Brown mocked Whitman and Poizner for staging “a billionaire’s demolition derby” .

“I looked at the partisan gridlock in Sacramento and I believe I can fix it,” he said. “…I know how Sacramento works and more importantly I know how it should work.”

Whitman, in her victory speech, told Brown to bring it on.

“Jerry Brown’s business is politics,” she said, “My business is creating good new jobs.”

Arriving on stage after the broadcast of a Hollywood-style music video depicting a smiling Whitman, she bathed in chants of “Take back Sac!”

“I like the fact that she comes from a business background rather than a politician,” said Christin Allen, 40, an attorney from Toluca Lake. “The economy is the biggest issue. She’ll have a better perspective on how to fix things.”

Join the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.